Superstar

Well, what gets listed and/or designation is often a throw of the dice. (As I mentioned elsewhere, the 401 Richmond array wasn't even listed, let alone designated, until last year. Didn't stop Margie Zeidler from doing her thing there.)

But re the "newer than it looks" business: for some reason, I can't pinpoint specific dates or past appearances (old streetscape photos might help), but something about that Cape Coddishness seems to suggest a spirited retrofit/alteration of as recently as the past quarter century. I could be wrong, but this merits looking into...

Active Member

I vaguely remember the architect Dermot Sweeny from &CO saying that the facade you see is somewhat fake, an add-on from decades ago and not the original architecture of the building...or something like that. Does anyone else have a better memory?

I

inkinc

Guest

Here is the response I have received from Adam Vaughan.
Kudos to him for responding.
With the facade staying, my major concern is the height and when it will stop and with what future projects. Thoughts?
See below from Adama Vaughan.

Thank you very much for your letters of concern regarding 620 King Street. The North side of King Street from Spadina to Bathurst is under an extreme amount of development pressure. The good news is that virtually all of the antique and heritage buildings are owned by two property companies who have lovingly restored the brick warehouses. These buildings are under no threat of demolition. The bad news is that several other buildings are threatened.

The building that many of you have written about is 620 King Street West. While this building appears to be of heritage value, in fact it is a faux Victorian façade attached to an early 20th century factory. The arched windows are decorative in nature and were added to the exterior in the early 80's as part of a renovation.

Now for the good news; the building is not actually being totally demolished. The street facing facades will be restored and sustained as brick. The industrial style windows will be retained and incorporated as part of the new project. The new building will have three distinct sections. The old building will form the base. It will be used for retail at grade in the front and parking in the rear. The alleyway to the west of the building will be landscaped and available to the retail tenant as usable space.

A second story roof garden will separate the bulk of the new building from the old. Six floors of glass fronted condo units will make up the middle portion. The top floor will be a roof top garden and bedrooms for the penthouse units.

The project has gone through at least two public meetings, there have been additional meetings between the developer and a group representing the Wellington Place neighbourhood association, and the public was given additional opportunity through the committee of adjustment meeting this week. Because the approval required only minor variances it did not go to council. All of the meetings were convened by my office with as much public notification as possible.

As part of the approval, funds were secured for a heritage conservation study for this stretch of King Street. A heritage district designation will provide stronger zoning and planning protections for the remaining historic buildings, and will also give the city more say in the design of new projects slated for vacant sites.

In the not too distant future my web site will allow for even more details and advanced notice including pictures of proposed buildings, and public meeting schedules. In the interim please contact the Wellington Place Neighbourhood Association (www.wellingtonplace.org <http://www.wellingtonplace.org> ) to keep in touch with what is happening in this part of the ward. Your name has also been added to our mailing list to alert you to other issues active in the ward

Active Member

Superstar

The building that many of you have written about is 620 King Street West. While this building appears to be of heritage value, in fact it is a faux Victorian faÃ§ade attached to an early 20th century factory. The arched windows are decorative in nature and where added to the exterior in the early 80's as part of a renovation.

Active Member

Yeah. How ridiculous is it to destroy a historic building that fits the neighbourhood and then build a fake historic building to make it fit the neighbourhood? I understand that they want to better incorporate restaurants, but come on.

Honestly, would preserving the beauty be a sacrifice to a ten story building?
At least keep its unique facade! I mean no buyer in the area's EVER going to care if the retail matches the condo's exterior design or not. Would it not be more economical to preserve what's already there? It's no mystery eclecticism is popular nowadays.
I hope to see it canceled so the developer's punished and can do a little reflection on his reckless ideas.. seriously they can't approve this

Notice was given and a Public Hearing was held on Wednesday , August 27, 2008, as required by the Planning Act.

PURPOSE OF THE APPLICATION:

To construct an eleven-storey mixed-use residential building that covers the entire lot area. The building will have one storey of retail/commercial/restaurant space at-grade and below-grade and 10 storeys of residential space above for a total of 15 residential units. There will be five-triple parking stackers located within the building for a total of 15 parking spots.

REQUESTED VARIANCE(S) TO THE ZONING BY-LAW:

1. Section 12(2) 246(a), By-law 438-86
The by-law requires the portion of the building exceeding a height of 20 m to be set back at least 3 m from the street.
The portion of the building above a height of 20 m will be set back 0 m.

2. Section 7(3) Part II 1.(i), By-law 438-86
The by-law requires the portion of a building located beyond 25 m of a street to be set back a minimum distance of 7.5 m from the side and rear lot lines.
The building will be set back 0.0 m from the west side lot line, 0.0 m from the east side lot line and 0.0 m from the rear lot line. The building depth will be approximately 29.64 m.

3. Section 4(2)(a), By-law 438-86
The maximum building height shall be 23.0 m.
The building height will be 39.9 m, measured to the highest point of the building (top of elevator shaft).

4. Section 12(2)246(e), By-law 438-86
The by-law requires 12 parking spaces for residents and 1 parking space for visitors.
In this case, no visitor parking spaces will be provided.

IT WAS THE DECISION OF THE COMMITTEE OF ADJUSTMENT THAT:

The Minor Variance Application is Approved on Condition

It is the decision of the Committee of Adjustment to approve this variance application for the following reasons:
<sum> The general intent and purpose of the Official Plan is maintained.
<sum> The general intent and purpose of the Zoning By-law is maintained.
<sum> The variance(s) is considered desirable for the appropriate development of the land.
<sum> In the opinion of the Committee, the variance(s) is minor.

This decision is subject to the following condition(s):
(1) That the owner enter into an agreement under Section 45(9) to provide a contribution of $100000.00 to the City of Toronto. $70000.00 is to be used for streetscape improvements on King Street West, $20000.00 is to be used for a heritage study for King Street West; and $10000.00 towards capital improvements to social housing in Ward 20.
SIGNATURE PAGE
File Number: A0650/08TEY Zoning RA (WAIVER)
Owner(s): GO 620 DEVELOPMENT INC
[ Ward: Trinity-Spadina (20)
Agent: NATASHA KRICKHAN (SWEENY STERLING FINLAYSON & CO ARCHITECTS)
Property Address: 620 KING ST W Community:
Legal Description: GRANT MIL RES SECTION G PT LT17

DATE DECISION MAILED ON: Tuesday, September 2, 2008
LAST DATE OF APPEAL TO THE ONTARIO MUNICIPAL BOARD: Tuesday, September 16, 2008
CERTIFIED TRUE COPY
To appeal this decision to the Ontario Municipal Board, send a completed OMB Appellant Form (A1) to the Manager & Deputy Secretary-Treasurer, Committee of Adjustment. You must pay a filing fee of $125.00, by certified cheque or money order, in Canadian funds, payable to the Minister of Finance. An additional reduced fee of $25.00 is required for each connected appeal filed by the same appellant. To obtain a copy of Appellant Form (A1) and other information about the appeal process please visit the Ontario Municipal Board web site at www.omb.gov.on.ca.

Active Member

Even though this building isn't heritage listed and an 80s tacked on, i can't help find it funny that by the time they get enough development fees for a heritage study along King St West, most of the heritage will most likely be modified or gone. I'm sure there are many people just waiting to pounce on any heritage building on King West for future development.

This boutique mixed-use condominium is located at 620 King Street West, is in the highly sought-after King West neighbourhood, just west of the downtown core. The street is lined with handsome turn of the century brick industrial buildings, upscale restaurants, cafes, retail stores and design-oriented offices and studios.
Innovative

The building is comprised of 14 luxury residential lofts rising above the facuuuade of the historical industrial warehouse building and will include many innovative "green" design features, targeting a LEED Gold rating. The 50,000 sf building will consist of a historical brick base of 2 stories, a third storey set back with a generous green terrace facing King Street and a modern tower of seven stories that seem to float over the original brick base. The ground floor retail space will add vitality and street presence to the King Street, the second floor will be suited to office or residential use and the upper floors will feature two suites per floor, thus providing large open concept lofts with generous daylight and double or triple aspect orientation to achieve cross ventilation. The glass facades facing south and west will be designed with integral sun-shading to provide reduced glare added comfort and energy savings throughout the year. Innovative triple parking stackers provide parking for 15 vehicles in the space of 5.
Green

The project will feature luxury finishes with environmental sustainability built in to all aspects of the integrated design to provide a high level of comfort, health and energy savings. South and west facing windows will have integral shading devices, suites will have cross-ventilation to provide cooling and air flow in summer months, in-floor radiant heating will provide superior comfort and efficiency, air exchangers will provide enhanced air quality, solar collectors will provide domestic hot water and low flow fixtures will provide water conservation.
Design

Typical units (two per floor) are 2,100 sf have direct elevator access and generous outdoor spaces. The two penthouse units are 4,000 sf over 3 floors and have large roof top terraces and cantilevered glazed swimming pools.

New Member

The old rendering may have been able to get away with saying the existing building was being retained and restored (minus faux blue-brick, half-round window facade):

But the new rendering looks like an entirely new building, even though the ONE Development description states it's, "rising above the facuuuade of the historical industrial warehouse building". Is facuuuade another word for BS?

That's not to say that I care whether the base of the building in this new render is old or new. I know that someone has already argued along the lines of, "destroying the existing building is like destroying mankind as we know it in King West", but in this case I think a brand new structure will make the Scholastic building and Living Lighting building next door look all that much better. The old rendering detracts from those two old, better maintained, heritage protected (I hope) properties to the east/west. If you're going to screw with the building that's there, do it entirely, not with a partial, pathetic nod to the past. I can't put my finger on it, but that's what bugging me about Victory down the street and its relation to the buildings immediately to its east/west.